The publisher of the Los Angeles Times is under investigation after two sexual harassment lawsuits accuse him of rating female colleagues by their ‘hotness’ and aggressively kissing a woman in front of his co-workers.
Court documents reveal that Ross Levinsohn has been a defendant in two different lawsuits and former colleagues of his have questioned his behavior in the workplace, NPR reported after uncovering court documents, financial filings and interviewing 26 of Levinsohn’s former colleagues.
Among the complaints against the publisher, are allegations that he rated women he worked with based on their appearance, kissed a female colleague while he was married and created a ‘frat house’ work environment.
Ross Levinsohn, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, is accused of sexual misconduct and creating ‘frat house’ work environments over the last two decades of his career
Levinsohn was hired by the Times in late August. He is now under investigation by the paper’s parent company Tronc
An NPR report claims Levinsohn has been a defendant in two different sexual harassment lawsuits and former colleagues of his have questioned his behavior in the workplace
In one lawsuit filed in 2001 by a former employee of the search engine Alta Vista, a female worker accused Levinsohn and other top executives of creating a hostile work environment.
A former executive for the company also testified that Levinsohn was ‘creating a frat house environment’ and his ‘behavior was inappropriate’. The executive said she had warned other top bosses about Levinsohn’s behavior.
During a sworn testimony, Levinsohn reportedly admitted to rating his female colleagues on their ‘hotness’ and speculating whether one woman had a side job as a stripper.
In 2006, a video producer sued Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp claiming she was sexually harassed and subjected to gender discrimination. At the time, Levinsohn was a senior vice president at the company.
The woman said in her suit that when she asked Levinsohn for a promotion he pointed to a female reporter who was a former pinup model and said she had ‘learned how to work her way up to the top’.
The veteran media exec was also accused of aggressively kissing a female colleague while married in front of everyone, including his co-workers, at a music industry dinner.
During a sworn testimony, Levinsohn reportedly admitted to rating his female colleagues on their ‘hotness’ and speculating whether one woman had a side job as a stripper. The publisher and CEO was also accused of aggressively kissing a woman while he was married in front of employees at a music industry dinner
The LA Times’ parent company Tronc said in a statement that it expects all employees ‘to act in a way that supports a culture of diversity and inclusion’
Levinsohn called the allegations ‘lies’ during a call with NPR.
Tronc, the Times’ parent company, told the outlet that they were investigating him but have yet to suspend the publisher.
‘This week, we became aware of allegations that Ross Levinsohn acted inappropriately. We are immediately launching an investigation so that we have a better understanding of what’s occurred,’ the statement read. ‘At Tronc, we expect all employees to act in a way that supports a culture of diversity and inclusion. We will take appropriate action to address any behavior that falls short of these expectations.’
Levinsohn was hired at the Los Angeles Times in August.